005: The Arrival

[Carnelia]

The reception chamber for the Northern Gate is cool, even with a dozen dragons standing on the platform. Thankfully, the babies are nestled in carriers that will keep them cozy while we travel. Carefully, I kiss the brow of each of my babies, giving them my love before handing each of them to a unique guard, one who will be serving as their personal attendant for our entire time in Luxandra. At Ona’s insistence, all of them are trained not only to be nursemaids but as skilled warriors.

“Are you sure about this,” I ask Ona as her hand rests on the button that will begin the process of reopening this gate. “Are you sure this is the best way?”

“Mother would make the same choice,” Ona looks at all of us intently as her hand rests on the button, “Of that I am certain.”

The reopening process is complex, requiring several elements to be in place, including the two of us in the same location. Once the engineers ensure us that it is time, Ona places her hand on a small stone plate. After giving a serial number and declaring her status, she gives her full name “Ona Callista Majere Daax.”

I place my hand next to hers, our fingertips touching as I do the same ending with, “Carnelia Stella Andromeda Majere.”

The sound of metal grinding on metal reverberates off the walls of the chamber, announcing the process has begun and cannot be reversed until it is complete.

Orion is the last of our party to arrive. When he does, it is in a flurry of transformation as he makes his appearance match those of the other guards. Lately, he has been distracted from his duties by one conquest or another as his hormones go into overdrive and his body seeks to find and attach to a mate. At 42 years old, he has entered the first stages of puberty, still too young by the standards of most to settle down, but also too frisky to expect anything less.

As he grows into a fully-developed drake, many of the unattached dragons under the age of 100 have been vying for his affection. He is, after all, exceptionally handsome, powerful, and the son of the Queen. “So how was she,” Ona chuckles as she watches her son try to gather himself.

“They were incredible,” he laughs out loud. She snorts, rolling her eyes but laughing inside. Before she found Daax again, she was known for her…entanglements.

Like mother, like son.

Orion steps on the disk just before the shield clicks into place. Had he been even a moment longer, he would have had to wait for the next convoy.

“Next time be on time,” she raises an eyebrow as she chastises him. “And remember to be more discrete. The Luxandrians have…interesting customs when it comes to casual mating.”

“Noted,” he secures his satchel securely across his shoulders as he takes one of my babies from his mother, shifting his appearance just enough to match the expressions and attire of the rest of the royal caregivers.

As we begin our slow descent to the surface, I am again astounded by the beauty of the universe. Just one short year ago, I believed that Luxandra was the center of everything--My world was so small when I was simply Milicent Walker. Her mind was too provincial to comprehend how insignificant we are when faced with the eternal sky of the heavens.

Once the gate is open fully, travel will be nearly instantaneous between the two realms. But for this first time, we must travel as the first ones did, slowly and cautiously as the paths are reestablished.

Because of this need, we are all gifted with a sight that only a handful of dragons before us have seen since the first ones descended millennia ago.

The surrounding sky is blacker than night, the distant stars twinkling in the distance except for our special star, which burns brightly. Now that we are disengaged from the celestial realm, our downward movement recreating a tunnel of sorts as we rebuild the pathways that tie us together, we feel none of the cold, nor the heat, our shield protecting us from the vast unending cold of eternity as the glowing marble below us grows nearer and nearer.

It is well into the morning before the gatedisk enters the upper atmosphere above the northern end of the Luxandrian continent. Taking our winged forms, our group makes a swift progression toward Imperial City.

The last time I came to Imperium City, I had traveled in my 4th form. As a creature made of concentrated sunlight, I didn’t have to engage with the guards or walk through a gate. This time, by necessity for the safe travel of the babies, there is no other choice. This unfortunate circumstance leaves us at the mercy of the Luxandrians.

Segundus was known to take the breath from an entire room of people if he felt they didn’t agree with him. How will we know if his queen is any different?

We don’t. In all truth, we have no idea of what to expect from her.

Like many other arriving nobles, we pass through the gates with little fanfare. The All Kingdom Faire is set to begin this evening, and we are far from the only visiting royalty arriving at this moment to present ourselves to the Queen. Ona tells me that Luxandra has not hosted an All Worlds Faire in at least 500 years, preferring to keep to themselves after the nastiness of the Sun Dragon War.

The decision was mutual. The world didn't want them either.

That the All Kingdom Faire is happening in Luxandra is a sign of openness and readiness to return to the World Council.

Doing so will bring wealth and stability to a continent that has been ravished by war and instability after the previous government was killed or disbanded. Luxandra needs this. They need to put their best foot forward to convince the other countries they are worth taking back.

The entire city is in a flurry of construction. Primus, in his madness at the loss of his mother, ravaged the countryside, burning everything in his path. And while the damage he caused from North to East was devastating, leaving many cities recovering, he saved the worst of his wrath for his brother, and the city he once called home.

Primus and Segundus were not the only ones to die that day. So did the capital city of the realm. When the smoke cleared, it was little more than cinders and ash.

But now, in the span of less than 4 months, Queen Eleanora has transformed the ruins into a truly modern city. It is impressive. Even without superior technologies, the Celestial Kingdom would have struggled to make so much change in so little time.

Nothing looks like it did before. The old stone keep is long gone, replaced with a gleaming castle of grown crystal and gems, forged from the cooperation of fire and earth dragons working in concert. Rather than being dark, squat, and imposing--a preference of the previous king--the new castle spirals to the heavens. Even the common homes are finer than before, made of grown quartz or marble and shaped for the needs of each resident.

Even the scarred fields seem to be coming back to life.

Smiling, I let my fingers brush against a hedge of starflower jasmine. We had a bush like this back at home in Ridgewood Manor. It was one of Primus’ favorites, a wedding gift from the Celestials to the Imperial City upon the marriage of their monarchs.

Rather than growing in contained places, the Starfire jasmine is blooming everywhere, almost like a weed rather than an intentional plant. They are even more beautiful for their wildness, climbing the surfaces of buildings and covering the ground like clover. Some flowers are so fine that they seem to glow bright blue in the sunlight as if illuminated from within.

This is Primus’ work. He’s the only earth dragon powerful enough to bring this much life to so much devastation in so little time.

Maybe the blooming flowers are a sign that he is still in there, trapped within his mind.

It feels like a signal. Like a missive that says "Look!"

So I do. My eyes follow the trail of flowers all the way to the palace.

Sitting on a throne in the distance Primus holds the hand of the Luxandra Queen.

He helps her stand.

As she rises from her throne one thing is quite easy to see.

She is newly pregnant, no more than two months gone, carrying a small clutch.

Her husband has been gone since that night, almost 4 months ago.